Update 4.10 for Nüvi 760

I concur. My 750 with Firmware 4.1 is like others' reports--a 0.2 mile lag in voice prompts with Jill and Karen and occasional stutters in the voice. But as you suggest, switching to British Daniel eliminates all stutters and voice prompt lags (now it's almost always "spot on" with a rare "less than 0.1-mile" voice lag in a prompt).

As much as I miss having Jill or Karen tell me where to go, I'll stick with Daniel until the nuvi 750 time lag issue is resolved.

Other thoughts:

1) This may indicate that a fix for the 7xx voice lag problem will be resolved with multiple TTS voice file updates rather than a firmware update.

2) This may also indicate why some 7xx users were not reporting a voice lag--they either were using a non-delayed voice file (like Daniel) or if using a problem voice file (like Karen or Jill), they may have an older version of the voice file rather than "the latest/greatest(?)" voice file which has issues with firmware 4.0 and 4.1.

Thank you for the tip, rjrsw!

Downloaded these but they will not install the voice on my 760 running 4.10 firmware. I have no problem connecting to the unit with any updates online or downloaded updates but these both cannot find any USB device when run so will not install.

Are the VPM files available to just download and copy to the voice directory on the 760 instead of an install?

I don't have my nuvi 760 yet.. should be here tomorrow. But maybe those of you that are having issues with stuttering voices and switching to a new voice resolves the issue, could call garmin and report this. It is sad that we have to trouble shoot and beta test their products but if it gets us a resolution, what the heck?

Silly me - these are the versions that use Updater.exe. You may well get them to recognise the 760, using the procedure that was used to downgrade the firmware to V3.10 (ie holding the centre of the screen while powering on). But I don't know for sure...

The WebUpdater flavour are probably still lurking somewhere - I'll see if I can find them.

Tried that procedure already that was used to downgrade from 4.0 but it comes up with a warning that the update is not compatiable with something then goes into a loading loader and just hangs. Had to hold the off switch to off untill it finally shut down and would reboot.

I haven't had any troubles with 4.10 for the last two days. I have had no stutters in the audio or delayed audio, either.

A previous poster mentioned altered voice files. Yes, I had adjusted Jill to talk a little faster. So maybe my success is affected by bumping Jill up about 10 points on the talking speed scale.

I think it is interesting that some people are having trouble, and others are not. Leads me to believe that the problem is not a simple one.

I came across a new bug with 4.1 today.

It is when saving the current location by clicking on the vehicle and then "Save Location" right away, I start typing the name of the new location and boom - CRASH!

I noticed the above happens fairly consistently with simulation on and off, playing MP3 and not, and following a route or not.

The things that seems to make a difference is that if I wait for a bit in the "Where am I?" screen before clicking on "Save Location" then everything seems to work fine.

I also noticed that before it crashes, it does save the location in the Favorites, but just with the sequential number assigned, and not with whatever you might have typed before the crash.

I also noticed that when I use a non-TTS voice there is NO delay in the voice coming out, but when I use a TTS voice, there is a clear 2 second delay before the voice comes out, it is very clear and consistent when touching the bottom right to have the last direction repeated, there is whole 2 second delay before the voice starts.

So when timing of the directions is crucial, I would suggest using a non-TTS voice.

Using GPS Simulator:

Hi guys, I went back to 4.10 tonight to try changing Jills Voice Rate. Well, using the tts editor I raised the voice rate from 45 to 50 and it’s close to perfect. Now when Jill talks it’s at times on the money or off by .01miles which to me is acceptable.

Speeding up the voice is just a bandaid fix. Haha, get it!!

But seriously, how could speeding up the voice help with the voice lag? On my unit the turn instructions begin to speak .1 to .2 miles late. So the issue is the voice starts too late.

I just tried that in the house and all is well. I'll try it again tomorrow on the road and post my findings.

How do you increase the voice rate?

I don’t understand it, all I can say it works for me, might as well work for others. Try it, you have nothing to loose and much to gain.

Using the TTS Voice Editor, Under Parameters, select Rate and raise it five clicks to 50.

I noticed both Jill and Karen’s voices are set to 45 on the voice rate. Jack and Daniel who provide less lag are set to 50.

Whoever first mentioned to edit the voice rate is on to something here.

Try using "British-English Daniel" as your TTS voice. If you haven't updated that voice file to 1.20 it should be the prior version 1.10 that was not changed to accommodate future voice things.

I tried it, after it was suggested by Phil Hornby, and it virtually eliminated the lag completely. He was wondering why the people in Europe were not having the same lag complaint. Someone on a French site mentioned the same thing.

That may explain why some people are not having a problem. They may have not updated their TTS files and are still running Jill 1.80 instead of 1.90 and Jack 1.30 instead of 1.40 version.

Read my above post. "I noticed both Jill and Karen’s voices are set to 45 on the voice rate. Jack and Daniel who provide less lag are set to 50." This is in regards to the updated sound file rjrsw.

This may be a stupid question, but I don't know the answer......................Where do I find this TTS voice editor your speaking off?

I haven't had any problem with the voice delay that everyone speaks of. Then it occured to me.

I've been using Karen's voice, with voice rate increased to 50.

Here you go.

http://www.poi-factory.com/node/16263

I didn't want to rain on the parade but the voice speed isn't the magic bullet. I have used a modified Jill file since 3.10, but I've been experiencing the voice lag since 4.00.

I don't think its the magic bullet, but the improvement is noticeable. This is why I brought it up. Even if for example Jill talks to late. Something about raising the rate to 50 and matching to the likes of Daniel that makes it work better. Why? I don't have a clue, but it works with noticeable improvements which should be brought to the attention that have issues with lag.

The voice rate should not effect when the voice starts to announce the turn but effects the speech rate of speed once it starts to announce. The problem is not taking to long to complete the instructions it is starting the instructions about .1 miles late.

More likely that is caused by a problem between the speech engine of the file and the GPS's firmware. It seems that the problem voices are the latest version of the voice were rolled out with the added future features in them. It appears that if you use a file from a earlier generation the problem goes away.

Anyone know where the old TTS voice files might be? How would you install them?

In addition to my earlier links, which were to .EXE files that contain UPDATER.EXE and the Voice in .RGN format (rather than .VPM):

The .RGN's can be downloaded directly from:

http://www8.garmin.com/software/Voice,AmericanEnglish-Jill_T...

http://www8.garmin.com/software/Voice,AmericanEnglish-Jack_T...

Theoretically, you can drag-n-drop these on WebUpdater and it will install them (or add the file name to WebUpdater's command line).
I couldn't actually get this to work (though it said it did). I didn't have either of them installed initially though, so that could be the problem.

The way to convert a .RGN to a .VPM, so that it can be just copied to the unit, is to remove the first 60 bytes from the file with a Binary Editor. I use XVI32 from
http://www.chmaas.handshake.de/delphi/freeware/xvi32/xvi32.h...

There are some instructions and screenshots here:
http://garminc510.tts.googlepages.com/home

(I don't think anyone has yet confirmed that these earlier versions actually solve the Nüvi 7xx 'lag' problem.)

this is what i got from garmin, will everyone read this and would like there opion on the deleation of the GPI file as a way to fix voice lag?! i dont have it but i was interested on what they would say a fix would be for the people who were !

Thank you for contacting Garmin International. We are still waiting on another update that will deal with the map/voice lag. There may be a file we can delete from your unit to help with the issue until the update is released.

Please connect your unit to the computer using a standard mini USB cable.
Double-Click on My Computer icon located on the desktop.
Double-Click on the Garmin/Nuvi drive.
Double-Click on the Garmin folder to open.
Double-Click on the GPX folder to open.
If you see a file with .GPI on the end, please delete it.

With Best Regards,

Shari E
Product Support Specialist

This morning I had 750v3.1-Jill, 760v4.0-Jill, and 760-v4.1-Daniel running side by side with the same route loaded from MapSource. Needless to say it was quite a cacophony in the car. The 750v3.1-Jill is spot on for alerts and is my baseline. 760v4.1-Daniel was 2 to 3 seconds behind 750v3.1-Jill for every alert. 760v4.0 was 5 to 7 seconds behind 750v3.1-Jill for every alert. The timing varied a bit, but generally, Daniel was only half, or slightly less, the time lag of Jill. In the countryside, only 750v3.1-Jill would announce the final alert at a reasonable distance before the turn. The other two would announce either at the turn or slightly after.
So, it looks as thought Daniel is late, but not so late as Jill. Tonight’s ride how will have 750v3.1-Jill, 760v4.0 Daniel, and 760v4.1-American English(non-TTS).
There seems to be an interaction between the TTS voices and the 4.x version of the software. Something is different between Daniel and Jill as well and the v3.1 was able to handle that difference. I don’t know what Garmin’s fix is going to be, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it would involve changes to the unit software as well as the individual voice files. Unfortunately, that would mean that the fix would involve several update cycles to correct.

will this help the battery life? This is my second 760. the first had awesome battery life. The second, not so much. Garmin not too eager to help. They say that they recommend it be in the cradle all the time...although their marketing says you can take it with you and it has a pedestiran mode.

I don't have the GPI file referenced below either... I do have a lag but it's not as serious as others have mentioned. Perhaps it's something to check for those that have usability issues with their GPS.

Updating to 4.1 right now, and heading on a bit of a trip. Will try the other fixes listed in this topic if lag is still there and will report back.

Larry

Just got back from an extensive test at speeds up to 65 MPH on the freeway and in town with both the c550 and 760 set to the same destinations.

The 760 is running firmware 4.10 using the English British Daniel version 1.10 TTS voice the c550 firmware 6.60 using the Jack version 1.40 TTS voice.

The turn anouncements were all within about 1 second of each other with the c550 coming first. I would say that after the second word from the 550 the 760 would start it's announcement.

At no point did the anouncement from the 760 ever come to late to not easily make the turn, even at freeway speeds. It appears that the real voice lag problem with the 760 with version 4.10 firmware is related mostly to the latest voice file upgrades adding the future voice features.

So at least for now if you can use a TTS voice file that was not upgraded with the most recent changes the lag problem is not there.

The update has been working well for me. I have to applaud garmin for actively working on updated to fix bugs.

I'm still noticing longer loading maps delays on power up than some previous software versions.

I am sure this question has been asked and answered before, but I can't seem to find it in the posts.
Are there any plans to have the GeePeeEx Editor available for use with the Mac?

Not natively ... but aren't there some Win32 emulators available.

(I know next to nothing about Macs)

I just let a couple days go by without visiting here and look what happens - I'm no longer the new firmware guinea pig. Nevertheless, I've loaded 4.1 on my Nuvi 760 and I've noticed a slight improvement .ie. less, lag. With 4.0 TTS voices were .1 miles behind physical location of my car. With 4.1 the voice is a little closer to being on time.

I've never rolled my firmware back and am anxiously waiting for the next update. They have to get it right sometime don't they?

Thank you Hornbyp, I'll see if I can figure this out lol.

I didn't see a voice lag at first, but I wasn't looking in the right place. It's soooo obvious when you watch the screen. The "next turn" indicator in the lower right corner will flip from .6 to .5 shortly before Jill starts to say "in .6 miles, turn....". So what she is saying is .1 off from what the screen shows. Some of these were at only 25 Mph, so it's not a speed thing. This was consistent during both drive tests. Jill would SAY .3, but the turn display would show .2. And this .1 discrepancy was seen with all announcements; .9, .8, etc. The closer you get to the turn, the more important that .1 gets to be.

My 350 announces right on the money. When the turn indicator shows .3, Jill SAYS "in .3 etc."

It's already happened to me more than once. I've been traveling for work. Last Thursday I had to visit Placerville and South Lake Tahoe. Friday I went to Susanville. This week I've been to Red Bluff, Redding, Yreka, Eureka, Ukiah, Lakeport, Napa, and Santa Rosa. Tomorrow is Friday and I'll go to Woodland and Fair Oaks. (Ok, get a map. It's northern California. It covers a good 1,200 miles or so.)

I've missed several turns because I was already past them before the unit said, "recalculating" and told me to make a U-Turn or go some other route to correct the error. I've had it tell me to take an exit when I was AT the exit and there was a ton of traffic. I've had a LOT of really BAD experiences on this trip due to the lag.

Prior to "upgrading" to version 4 I was extremely happy with my 760. I absolutely loved the thing. Since "upgrading" to version 4 the 760 has made me absolutely crazy.

I've been a Garmin fanboi for quite some time. I always praised their products and especially their service and attention to customer input. At this point I'd like to punch somebody. What's the point of putting out another update that does nothing to address the MAIN COMPLAINT of the customers?

I've noticed another bug with my nuvi 760 V4.1.
When it calculates the arrive time it is two hours quicker than my nuvi 350 for the same 550mi trip.

I have a nuvi 750 which I have updated from v.4.0 to 4.10. I have tested it in trips around town the past two days. I am getting no delay and no stuttering. If Jill says turn in .2 miles, the "turn in" insert indicates .2 miles. If Jill says .3 miles, the "turn in" indication is .3 miles. I am using Jill tts version 2.9. I am using Jill's default speed. My map is in 2d with tracking up.
I have never gotten a turn direction after the turn has passed. However, it is my observation that the "turn in" distance given when I'm near the turning point usually exceeds the actual distance, i.e. if the "turn in" distance is 200 feet, I have estimated the acutal distant to be more like 100 feet. Thus, if Jill voice is actually sycronized
to the "turn in" distance (I do not know if this is so) then this could be the reason that the second direction to turn on "such and such" street has never been late.
Not necessarily endorsing v. 4.10, just giving my experience so far.

I've always checked and updated my voice files. It's beginning to seem that may have been an error on my part. Sadly, I think I've always updated the American, British, and Australian voices so I'm kind of screwed since I don't know a way to roll back to a prior voice version.

I'll go ahead and "upgrade" to 4.1 since I'm already miserable with 4.0. I've been experiencing as much as a .2 mile delay in voice instructions.

If you backed up your gps the files will be there and you could just copy them to your voice folder. I have all mine from both my 760 and 770...

This is probably a stupid question, please don't get offended, just have to ask.
Are both units set to either shortest distance or fastest time?

I've experienced the voice lag since 4.00 and still have it with 4.10. Using American Jill, with modified speech file.

Other people have mentioned this so I changed my Map View from 3D to Track Up. The voice lag disappeared. I've only tested this in simulation mode, I'll report back if it doesn't work in real driving.

How can I check which voice versions I'm using? I looked at the diagnostic screens and didn't see it and I didn't see a version attached to the voice name when choosing voices.

Since others seem to be able to tell exactly which version they are using I must just be missing something simple...........

Even though I've updated all of the English voices (silly me) I'll try British Daniel and see if that helps.

To continue on with my characterizations of the various units, I ran all three of these units side by side on my ride home from work in the following configurations.
750v3.1-Jill
760v4.0-Jill 2D
760v4.1-American English (nonTTS)
Again, 750v3.1-Jill is spot on for all directions. 760v4.1-American English (nonTTS) was also spot on and exhibited no discernable delay. Often times prompting at the exact same time as 750v3.1-Jill.
760v4.0-Jill 2D was interesting. Generally, there are three alerts for each turn. One that is announced just after the first turn, i.e. “In 5 miles Turn Left…”, then one about .6 to .8 miles before the turn and then one last one just before the turn (if it works right). With the 2D set, the first alert was anywhere from 2 to 7 seconds behind 750v3.1-Jill. The second alert was generally only about 2 seconds behind, and the final alert was either spot on or 1+ second behind 750v3.1-Jill. The first alert timing was very similar to the 760v4.0-Jill 3D performance I had observed earlier but the second alert timing was much improved, but still late, and the final turn alert was very good and did not give any late turn alerts over the 11 turns in my route.
My preliminary conclusion is that the problems with the latest software run a little deep and probably will require a change to the SW as well as the individual voice files. Sadly, this will also probably require a couple of SW update cycles to fix or at least improve to an acceptable level.

The audio version shows in the same screen with all the firmware versions located at Tools > Settings > System > About.

tnx works great

Just launched the WebUpdater this morning and the English TTS voice updates are gone. Think they pulled them? Probably does point to the idea that the problem is the voices interaction with the firmware. We'll see if they fix it with a voice fix or a firmware fix.

I did write to Garmin techsupport about the voice lag and the response I got said that I should roll back the firmware temporarily. I have a 760, so if I understand from other's experience here, that would kill bluetooth. Don't their tech support people read forums or even talk to each other? Seems odd that there is not a standard set of advice being given.

Here is the text of the email they sent me.

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

At this time until we are made aware of the firmware update I am not
able to give a specific timeframe when this will finally be corrected.

Just checked on the WebUpdater and with mine all the latest ones still show even though my Jack and Jill files are already the latest version.

There are days where I am a little petulance, but I definately avoid pestilent!!!!